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Mesa Verde National Park Invites Everyone to #FindYourPark During the Centennial Birthday Month

Special events across the U.S. will celebrate the National Park Service 100th Anniversary in August

The National Park Service invites visitors of all ages to join in the celebration of its 100th Birthday throughout the month of August. Mesa Verde will kick off the Centennial Birthday Celebration on August 25, 10:00 a.m. at the Visitor and Research Center with speakers and birthday cake. In addition, there will be activities throughout the day including: Curation Tours (please call 970-529- 4614 or 970-529- 5074 for reservations), Native American Dances, a Historic Walking Tour, and a special Campground Evening Program.

Eight members of the USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19) crew will be on hand to help the park celebrate the Centennial. They will also work on a trail project while in the park August 23-26.

"We invite our friends and neighbors to celebrate the National Park Service's birthday with us", said Superintendent Cliff Spencer. "We're honored to have crew members from the USS Mesa Verde present for the celebration."

A sampling of nationwide events is available on the National Park Service website www.nps.gov, and many more can be found at FindYourPark.com and EncuentraTuParque.com.

Entrance Fees Waived for the NPS Birthday through the Weekend

Park entrance fees will be waived nationwide from August 25 through August 28 to encourage everyone to celebrate the National Park Service's 100th Birthday. The entrance fee waiver does not cover amenity or user fees for activities such as camping, boat launches, transportation, or special tours.

Find Your Park to Celebrate the Centennial

On August 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the act that created the National Park Service "to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for future generations."

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of that moment and to look ahead to the next 100 years, in early 2015 the National Park Service and the National Park Foundation launched the Find Your Park / Encuentra Tu Parque movement. Inspiring people from all backgrounds to celebrate and support America's national parks and community-based programs, this movement invites people to discover and share their own unique connections to our nation's natural landscapes, vibrant culture, and rich history.

"August – our birthday month – will be a nationwide celebration of national parks, and we're inviting everyone to the party," said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. "We like to think that we look pretty good for 100, and with so many events and activities to commemorate this milestone, we hope all Americans will join us to celebrate the breathtaking landscapes and inspiring history in our nation's parks and public lands. Whether it is in a distant state or in your own community, there are hundreds of ways and places to find your park!"